A good Offense
by Striped Leopard 626
Summary: The 'cure' is wearing off. Old enemies are returning, and it's time for one young woman to pick sides. She is instrumental in the war, but the question is, can she control her powers, or will she end everything?
1. Chapter 1

She'd watched it all on TV. She'd seen the destruction wrecked on the humans by her own kind.

And she'd seen the people who helped stop it from going too far.

She knew right then that she wanted to be one of them. One of the ones who worked to stop those who wanted destruction. Wanted pain. Thought they were superior just because they could do things other people couldn't.

* * *

_Everyone is special._ She thought as she got off the bus downtown. It was a long walk to that mansion, but she didn't have anywhere else to go. _Too bad some people can't handle being so different._

She shouldered her bag and kept a steady pace. A motorcycle slowed to a stop next to her, and a guy pulled his helmet off. His hair stuck up at odd angles, and she didn't really think it was from the helmet.

"Where're you heading?" He asked. His voice was gruff, his manner short. But there was something about him that made her not back away.

Something in his eyes made her stop for a moment.

"Xavier Institute." She replied after a moment.

"Now why do you want to go there?" He asked. She shrugged.

"I think they can help me." She said. Memories welled up, but she shoved them to the back of her mind. She couldn't think about them. She couldn't think about what she'd done, because she didn't want to hurt anyone else.

"Well, get on then." He said. "Can't have a new student walking the entire way."

Normally she would have said no, but there was still that something about him. Something instinctive. Like looking at a dog and knowing that it will protect you as much as it can. There was something in his eyes, a glint that said he didn't like to see people hurt.

She adjusted the straps on her bag and swung her leg over the bike, getting on behind him. As she settled into place, she could see his face move into a smirk.

"You've ridden before."

Memories flashed in front of her eyes, and she blinked, trying to clear her head. She pushed the thoughts to the back of her mind and just nodded.

"Yeah." She said quietly. "I've ridden before."

Logan still wasn't sure why he'd stopped. There was something in the way she walked, the look in her eyes.

Something almost familiar. She reminded him of someone.

_Jean_. She reminded him of Jean. Her hair was black, and her eyes were a brilliant sapphire color, and even her facial features were completely different, but she had an air around her.

An air of someone with the weight of the world on her shoulders. The air of someone with the power to do anything they wanted to.

And the air of someone in pain.

He pulled into the mansion garage and got off. The girl was standing a few feet away, nervously fiddling with the strap of her bag.

"Come on." He said, a little less gruffly than he normally spoke. "Come on." He lead her up through a maze of hallways and finally into an office.

A younger woman sat behind the desk, her white hair chopped short, almost in a anime-style. She looked up as Logan came in.

"We've got a new student." He said. Storm frowned at him, then looked at the girl, meeting her eyes. For a moment the air seemed to crackle with the potential to explode, but then Storm smiled, and the air relaxed.

"I'm Storm." She said, stepping around the desk and extending her hand. The girl shook it firmly with a gloved hand.

"Serenity." She replied quietly.

"Pretty name." Logan said, flopping down in one of the chairs. "That one I'll definitely remember." Blue eyes landed on him for a moment, then looked away quickly.

"That's Logan." Storm said, shooting Logan a half-annoyed glare. He shrugged it off, lighting a cigar. "So do you know what your powers are?"

Serenity didn't reply. She just closed her eyes. Things began to lift themselves up into the air, swirling around.

As Logan's chair began to rise, he jumped up. "Enough!" He shouted.

Startled, Serenity jumped. Everything flew out away from her in a circle, hitting the wall and falling to the floor. The windows were thrown open, several of the panes shattering. Logan himself was pitched clear across the room and into a bookcase. There was a sickening crack as his head lay to the side, clearly broken.

Serenity's eyes widened, and she was suddenly unable to get enough oxygen.

_She'd done it again._

Letting out a small whimper, she turned and ran, a terrified look plastered on her face.

* * *

A moment later, Logan stood up, groaning as he stretched his neck muscles. He looked around the room at the shocked Storm and the half-broken window.

"Ow."

"Logan she took off."

Cursing under his breath, Logan took off after her. It wasn't hard to follow her, students had been tossed to the side, several of them sporting bruises from where they'd been thrown into the walls in her effort to get past.

He caught up with her halfway to the gates.

"Hey! Kid!" She didn't stop. He racked his brain for her name. "Serenity!" She stopped dead in her tracks, whipping around to stare at him. Spotting him, she let out a short scream before she clamped her own hand over her mouth. Her bag dropped o the ground with a dull thump.

"But-" She removed her hand from her mouth and pointed at him. "You were dead!"

He hesitated. "Sort of." He took a step toward her, and she backed up two steps of her own. "Here, look." He raised his hand, extending his claws slowly. Her eyes got wider and wider as they came out. He held out his other arm, and sliced into it, grimacing.

She let out a little squeak. Then, as he began to heal, her eyes got even wider. "Oh my god." She whispered.

"I'm probably the only person in the world who you can't kill." He said. His face darkened. "Believe me. It's not that easy."

"I-" She chewed on her lip. "I don't think I can stay here, with all these other people." She looked up at the mansion. "I didn't think it would be so _big_."

Logan gave her a smile as he looked behind him at it. It didn't hold the same glamor it once had for him. Still, he stayed because he was needed. People like her needed him to help them get a handle on their powers.

He turned back to her. "Hey. Sorry I startled you back there." Serenity nodded, but her eyes wanted an explanation. "I-" He sighed. "I knew someone who had powers like yours, in some ways."

"What happened to them?" Serenity asked quietly.

Logan hesitated. "Didn't make it though." He said, and the edge came back into his voice. "You should stay."

Serenity met his gaze evenly, something not many people would do anymore. It was like they were afraid of offending him or something.

"Why?" She asked. "If you couldn't heal yourself, I would have killed you."

"Which is _exactly_ why you shouldn't go out there." He gestured toward the street. "People are going to surprise you, make you angry, make you upset, piss you off, or do something else and you'll loose control of your powers on someone who _can't_ heal themselves."

"I don't want to hurt anyone else." She said quietly.

"Look. How about you train only with me until you get a better handle on your abilities. You can't hurt me." She gave him a pointed look. "Well, I mean, yeah it hurts, but you can't kill me."

Serenity chewed on her lip, then nodded. Logan made to pick up her bag, but it lifted itself up and zoomed over to her. She plucked it out of the air and slung it over her shoulder.

Shaking his head, Logan lead her back up to the mansion.

* * *

Storm looked up as Logan came back in, this time by himself. "Well?" She asked.

"She's settled into an empty room." He said. She nodded and leaned back in her seat, abandoning whatever it was she was working on.

"She's a lot like Jean, isn't she?" She asked. Logan's jaw tightened as he nodded, his gaze shifting to look out the broken window as he shoved his hands in his pockets.

"She agreed to stay." He said. Storm gave him a small smile.

"That's good."

"One condition though." He said. Storm raised an eyebrow. "She wants me to be the only one to train with her. I'm the only one around here she can't kill." Storm's eyes narrowed. "I think that today wasn't the first time her powers got away from her like that." Storm nodded, looking thoughtful.

"Well, that doesn't matter now." She said decisively. "She's here to make a fresh start, and that's exactly what we're going to give her."

* * *

Bobby looked up as a girl stuck her head into the kitchen, looking aimlessly around. Normally he wouldn't have given it a second thought, except that he'd never seen her before. Her eyes swept the entire room before falling on him.

"You need something?" He asked. It was unusual for anyone to be up this late. The only other person he'd run into at this hour was Logan, who wasn't usually too happy about being awake.

"I'm a little lost." She admitted. "I just decided to stretch my legs, and get a drink of water."

Bobby smirked. "How long have you been walking around?"

She glanced at the clock behind his head and sighed.

"About an hour actually." She said.

"Well, I can't help you with your room, but you can get some water here." He held up a bottle, and she stepped inside, padding over to him and taking the bottle of water. He held onto it for a moment, chilling it. She jumped as the iciness spread around the bottle. Several cabinets flew open, and the water bottle exploded. Bobby dropped the shards of plastic, checking himself for scratches.

Her eyes widened and she backed up toward the door. "Oh shit!" She whispered. "Oh my god, I'm so sorry!"

"No, it's no problem." He said, trying to command his heart to slow down. She looked like she was going to bolt. He picked up another water bottle, and iced it before handing it to her.

She took it a little skeptically, and after taking it she stepped back away from him again. "I'm Bobby." He said, offering her an easy smile. She didn't relax.

"Serenity." She said, taking a long drink of water.

"Cool name." He said, and picked up the remote for the TV, turning it on.

"_And the search still continues for the missing daughter of senator Hamilton, who was killed two weeks ago along with his fiancee in their California home. The young Virginia Hamilton is believed to have been kidnapped by the killer."_

"That's awful." Bobby muttered, and looked up to see Serenity looked extremely pale. Her hand grasped the table so hard her knuckles were white. "Hey, are you all right?"

She didn't answer him, staring off into space. She seemed to be in a trance of some sort. Her entire body shook once, and then things started going crazy. The kitchen cabinet doors flew off their hinges. Bobby let out a shout and dove under the table, narrowly avoiding behind hit with a flying door. Plates and silverware flew around in a circle around her, faster and faster.

Heart racing, Bobby judged the distance to the door and counted to three. He leapt out from his hiding space, flinging himself through the door. He sprinted off in the direction of Logan's room.

* * *

Logan was awoken by someone pounding on his door. "Logan!" He recognized that voice. Ice Man.

He yanked to door opened and narrowed his eyes at the frantic look on the boy's face.

"She-just-stopped-moving! I-didn't-do-anything! She-just-stopped-and-everything-started-flying-around!" It all came out in one breath, and Logan gave him a weird look.

"What?"

"Some girl! She said her name was Serenity, and-"

"Shit!" Logan took off without another word.

* * *

He barreled though the kitchen door only to get whacked in the head by a plate, which shattered. Serenity was standing in the middle of the room, her eyes wide, blank and staring.

"Serenity!" He started to walk toward her, but a cabinet door him in the head. After he shook it off, he dove at her, tackling her.

Her head hit the ground, and she suddenly blinked. Everything fell toward the ground, then suddenly stopped and flew back into the cabinets. The doors piled themselves on the table neatly. Serenity scrambled to her feet, looking around the kitchen anxiously.

"What happened to that boy?" She asked. "The one with the ice?"

"I'm fine." Bobby poked his head in the door. "Just a little freaked." Serenity covered her face with her hands, and Logan hesitated before putting a hand on her shoulder.

"It's okay." He said, looking to Bobby for help which only caused the younger man to hold up his hands defensively. "It'll be okay."


	2. Chapter 2

Weeks went by and Serenity kept training with Logan.

A month and a half after her arrival, Logan walked up behind her silently and put a hand on her shoulder.

She let out a yelp, but her powers didn't lash out. Logan grinned down at her proudly. "That was good." He said. She beamed at him. "You want to try a training session with the others?" She chewed on her lip. "If all goes well Storm _might_ decide to give you a uniform."

Her eyes widened. "Seriously?"

"Seriously." If it was possible, her grin got even bigger, and the flower pot next to her shook a couple of times before quieting again. "Now come on. The session's in five minutes."

The pot rattled a couple more times and went still again. "Five minutes?"

"Keep thinking like that and you may make the entire mansion explode." Logan said, clamping a hand down on her shoulder. He steered her inside and down to the danger room. "Now let's get moving."

* * *

Serenity played with the zipper on the training outfit she had been given nervously as Logan walked her into the room. Bobby gave her a small smile and a wave, and a redheaded girl with a streak of white at the front, glared at her from across the room. Deciding to ignore her for the moment, she just stood off to the side, away from the others as Logan began to talk.

"As some of you are _bound_ to know by now, this is Serenity." He said. "Some of you have classes with her. The reason she hasn't been training with you is up to her to tell you or not. Don't push her about it, and I could have to cut you into tiny pieces." Several of the older kids chuckled, knowing he was only halfway kidding.

"Okay. Now on to the more serious stuff. Today's mission?" He smirked. "Hostage situation. Humans and mutants both."

"Who's the human and who are the mutants?" One of the kids asked.

"That's for _you_ to figure out." Logan said with a grin as he headed toward the door. "Bobby, you're on point." The doors shut behind him.

"All right. Now since we don't know who is who, we go easy. No lethal force, no wounding. Disarming only." He looked to a dark-hared boy on the other side of the group. "And _no_ stunts." The kid rolled his eyes. "No showing off either." This he directed at a blonde girl to Serenity's right. "We're a team, and we'll work together."

He grinned. "Now let's kick some ass." The group spread out over the room, and Serenity found herself standing next to him. "You okay?" He asked. "Cause I don't think we're going to get any dishes to throw around this time." Serenity felt her face flush, and she shifted, fiddling with her zipper again.

"I'm good." She said confidently.

The simulation began. The scene changed to that of a bank. There was a man with a knife to a woman's throat to Serenity's right, two more men with hostages on the other side of Bobby. The one to the right was the only one with a weapon though. With a look, Serenity sent the knife flying across the room, burying itself in the wall about two feet to the right of the red-and-white-head's head.

That earned her another glare.

"Don't come any closer!" One of the hostage-takers shouted, his free hand erupting in flames. Bobby cursed under his breath. He was too close to the hostage to get a clear shot with his ice. A cold hand touched Serenity's cheek, and she felt all of her limbs freeze.

"Rouge! _No_!!" She heard Bobby shout faintly as the room began to spin. Fire raced through her entire body, building up until she felt she couldn't contain it anymore. She opened her mouth in a silent scream as her body began to shake with the pressure of keeping her power inside.

The scene faded as the doors hissed open. Serenity's vision was blurring as she tried to keep her power inside her. The hand disappeared from her cheek as Logan shoved the girl aside, dropping in front of Serenity.

"Everyone out! **Now**!!" He shouted. All of the younger students fled the room at his yell, but several stayed. "If you like being alive, **_get out_**!!" Everyone but Bobby and Rouge ran out.

Logan grabbed Serenity's face between his hands, making her look up at him. She was literally trembling with the amount of power flooding through her veins.

"Serenity! You can control this!" Logan shouted. Bobby was picking the unconscious Rouge into his arms. "Ice Man, get her out of here!" Without a word of protest Bobby ran out of the room, the doors hissing shut behind him. "Serenity! You _can_ control this!" Serenity dropped to her knees, clutching herself as she fought for control. The entire mansion began to shake as though in the middle of an earthquake. Things began to rise up as though gravity had no effect on them anymore.

Students began screaming. Out in the hall, Rouge came to, her eyes flying open as she gasped in breath as though she were a fish. When she and Bobby began to rise into the air, she let out a scream and grabbed onto Bobby.

"Serenity!" Logan exclaimed. Her dark hair was floating around her head, her eyes squeezed shut.

"I'm. . . Trying!!" She ground out.

"Serenity!" She fought it as hard as she could.

Suddenly, gravity was restored to normalcy, and everything in the mansion crashed down to the floor.

Serenity was kneeling on the floor, doubled over so far that her head was touching her knees. She was breathing evenly in deep, shaky breaths. Logan sat down heavily on the floor, putting his hand on her shoulder.

"I should have warned you about Rogue." He said darkly. "I didn't think she'd do something like that."

Serenity just nodded, not lifting her head. "She takes people's powers right?"

"Yeah."

"Well then you might want to make sure she doesn't get upset for a while." She muttered, flopping down so she was lying on her side. She sighed heavily as Logan got up. "So. . . I'm going to guess the fitting for my uniform will be a bit delayed?" She asked weakly.

"Only a little bit kid." Logan said. "You think you can walk?"

"No." She sounded as though she were half asleep already. He sighed. He really hoped that she never had to contain her powers when he wasn't around, because he didn't know what she'd do after she passed out.

Shaking his head, he scooped her up into his arms and carried her out of the danger room. Bobby and Rogue were still in the hall, and Bobby stared at them.

"What happened?" He asked. Logan shot Rouge an annoyed look.

"I should ask _you _that." He said. Rouge glanced down at the floor, properly admonished. "You _never_ take power from your _own team_ without asking the person first. Particularly this one."

"Why?" Bobby asked. "I mean," He added quickly as Logan shot him a glare, "Why especially not her?"

Logan set his jaw, glancing down at the sleeping teen. "Because she might just be more powerful than Jean was." He met Bobby's eyes. "And she doesn't have to professor the keep her from killing us all."

* * *

Serenity woke up with a pounding headache and headed down to the kitchen. Logan and Storm were at the table, drinking coffee.

"Morning kid." Logan muttered as she collapsed into a chair and leaned forward, letting her head hit the table with a dull 'thunk.'

"Morning." She muttered into the table.

"Well, I just thought that you ought to know, Rouge won't be doing that again any time soon." Storm said. Serenity gave a dry, humorless laugh.

"Good to know." She said.

"Serenity." The girl looked up at her, blinking blearily. "You've come a long way since you've been here. A really long way." Serenity blinked a couple of more times, and suddenly looked wide awake. She lifted her hands up and looked at them as they trembled.

"Serenity?" Storm's voice showed her concern as she got to her feet. Serenity's breath was coming faster as she blinked back tears in her eyes.

"Something's happening." She said quietly. "I can feel it."

"What's happening?" Storm asked.

"I don't know." Serenity said, returning to normal. She shivered. "I get these horrible feelings like something's going to happen or is happening." She gave them a grim smile. "I've never been wrong." She shook her head. "Though sometimes I wish I was." She shook her head.

"When was the last time you felt something like that?" Storm asked. Serenity sighed.

"Well, the last time was two weeks before I came here." She shivered. "I was watching this debate between senator Hamilton and someone else, and when I looked at Hamilton, I _knew_ something bad was going to happen to him." She paled a little. "Then his family was killed."

"The daughter is still missing." Storm said. Serenity shook her head.

"She may still be missing, but she's also not alive." She shivered again. "But this time it was stronger. Something's happening right now that's going to effect us all." Logan and Storm glanced at each other and had a silent conversation through looks.

Storm gave Logan a 'do you believe her?' Look.

Logan returned with a 'why are you even asking me?'

Storm rolled her eyes, saying 'I don't know what is wrong with you.'

Logan glared at her with a 'I care about her, okay?'

Storm held up her hands and left the room. Logan sat back down at the table.

"She doesn't believe me, does she?" Storm asked. Logan sighed.

"Well, since the professor's gone, she's the one to make all the big decisions around here." He said. "She's not going to believe it until she has some proof." He suddenly frowned at the TV, and grabbed the remote, turning up the volume.

"_This miracle cure for mutants that caused so much controversy a year ago is now being shown to be only temporary."_ A reporter said. Logan snorted.

"Right. Like Rogue didn't notice _that_ part." He muttered darkly. He remembered a couple of weeks before when Rouge had started screaming because Bobby had passes out after kissing her.

"_This has brought back many concerns about how the mutants should be handled. This reporter arranged for a meeting with Ambassador Hank McCoy, to hear his take on the issue." _The scene switched to show Hank, looking slightly uncomfortable under the bright lights. _"So Mr. McCoy-"_

"_Please, call me Hank." _

"_Okay, Hank." _The reporter smiled at him_. "What do you think about the cure not being permanent?"_

"_Well, I have to say that I was never altogether convinced that it was even possible, until I saw it for myself. After I knew it worked, I was never convinced of its permanence." _

"_I don't think you answered the question." _

"_All I'm saying, is that you need to stop calling it a 'cure'. Mutants aren't sick. We don't have some kind of disease, and if we're properly taught to control our abilities, we pose no threat to the world. I never advocated the use of the serum as a weapon, but I suppose that against some it was necessary." _

"_Do you mean 'some' as in Magneto?" _

"_Magneto is a prime example of what I speak out against strongly. People put pressure on us to be normal, to look and act like humans. By definition we aren't, but that doesn't mean we can act like savages." _

"Right on Hank." Logan muttered, taking a long drink of coffee.

"_Do you think Magneto will become a threat again?" _The reporter asked. Hank hesitated.

"_Magneto may or may not become a threat. He's. . . Hard to predict." _He gave her a reassuring smile_. "It's hard to say what he will do, but I personally know a group of people that are dedicated to stopping him." _

"_Are you referring to the group that call themselves the 'X-men'?" _

Hank's smile widened. _"Of course. Six of us stood alone against the brotherhood on Alcatraz, because we believe that it is possible for us to coexist with the rest of the world." _

The reporter smiled_. "Thank you Ambassador." _She turned to the camera to continue talking, but Logan switched off the TV.

"Well, now isn't that interesting." He smirked at Serenity. "Doesn't that just make you feel all safe?"

"Completely." She muttered, shaking her head. "That's what my feeling must have been about."

Logan frowned. "Yeah, probably." He raised an eyebrow at her. "You ready for some more training today?" Serenity sighed, letting her head fall back over the back of the chair, so she was looking at the ceiling.

"If I have to." She muttered. She grabbed an apple from a basket on the counter and headed back up to her room.

Since it was Saturday, Logan didn't have anything to do until the training session in the afternoon. Come to think of it, no one else had to be up for hours either.

He switched back on the TV, to find the anchor starting another story. _"And in other news, the body of Virginia Hamilton, daughter of California state senator Edward Hamilton was found today, washed up on San Francisco beach."_

He turned it off again.


End file.
